OF THE FINE ARTS. 



in his daring enterprise. The conception of this 

 picture is at once poetic and historic. The 

 painter desired to represent the chiefs of his 

 country ; and the descent of Ulysses into the 

 shades enabled him to bring together the heroes 

 of old, and the leaders of latter times. It seems 

 not to have been wanting in all the higher 

 qualities of invention, composition, and expres- 

 sion. The third great picture of the series 

 merits examination. It is less stern in character 

 than its companions. Grecian mind and feeling 

 is emblazoned on every part. The artists of 

 that great people found all their subjects at their 

 own threshold. 



After these Polygnotus painted the daughters 

 of Pandarus. Through the anger of the gods 

 their parents died early ; and thus becoming 

 orphans, they were educated by Venus. They 

 received prudence and beauty of form from 

 Juno, tallness from Diana, wisdom in household 

 duties from Minerva, and Venus, to render all 

 those gifts beneficial, ascended to heaven and 

 obtained for them happy nuptials from Jupiter. 

 But the Fates were unpropitious. During the 

 absence of Venus they were seized by the 

 Harpies, and delivered over to the Furies. 

 Polygnotus crowned them with flowers, and 

 represented them playing with dice. Nigh them 

 Antilochus stands with one of his feet on a stone, 

 and holding his head with both his hands. Aga- 

 memnon is close beside him, leaning with his 

 left arm on a sceptre, and holding a wand in his 

 hands. Protesilaus sits looking at Achilles, and 

 Patroclus stands above him. All these, save 

 Agamemnon, are beardless. lasius appears as 

 a youth ; he is endeavouring to take a ring from 

 the finger of Phocus. The latter lost his life 

 through the treachery of Peleus, and the ring is 

 taken as a pledge of friendship in death. Maera 

 is sitting on the ground ; Actaeon and his mother 

 are beside her. The latter holds a faun in her 

 hands, and sits on the skin of a hind. A hunting 

 dog is near them, to intimate the fate of the 

 youth. In the lower part of the picture, Orpheus 

 sits with a harp in his left hand ; and in his right 

 the leaves of the willow tree, taken from a grove 

 sacred to Proserpine. The figure of Orpheus is 

 Grecian ; and neither his garment, nor the cover- 

 ing on his head, is Thracian. Promedon, who 

 loved all kinds of music, and Schedias, who led 

 the Phocenses to Troy, and Pelias, whose hair 

 and beard were alike hoary, and blind Thamyris, 

 in appearance humble and abject, with a beard 

 thick and long, are all close to Orpheus. At the 

 feet of Thamyris lies a lyre, which seems to have 

 been dashed down ; part of the frame is broken, 

 and the chords are burst. Olympus, in the 



flower of youth, stands in the attitude of a 

 listener, and holds a pipe in his hands. 



" If you look," says Pausanias, " at the upper 

 parts of the picture, you will see, in a continued 

 series, Salaminian Ajax next to Actaeon ; and 

 afterwards Palamedes and Thersites playing 

 with dice, which were invented by Palamedes. 

 The other Ajax is looking at them while they 

 are playing ; his colour is that of a seafaring 

 man, and his body is yet moist with the foam of 

 the sea. Polygnotus seems to have collected 

 the enemies of Ulysses into one place. The 

 reason why Ajax the son of Oileus hated Ulysses 

 was, because the latter advised the Greeks to 

 stone Ajax to death for his daring wickedness 

 towards Cassandra. I know too, from the 

 Cyprian verses, that Palamedes was drowned 

 when fishing, by Ulysses and Diomed. Melea- 

 ger the son of (Eneus is painted, and appears to 

 be looking at Ajax. All these, except Pala- 

 medes, have beards. In the lowest parts of the 

 picture, after the Thracian Thamyris, you will 

 see Hector sitting with both his hands on his left 

 knee, and exhibiting the appearance of a man 

 oppressed with sorrow. After him is Memnon, 

 sitting on a stone ; and close by him is Sarpedon, 

 leaning with his face on both his hands. But 

 one of the hands of Memnon is placed on the 

 shoulder of Sarpedon ; and all these have a 

 beard. In the robe of Memnon, too, birds are 

 painted ; and these birds are called Memnonides. 

 The people of the Hellespont say that these 

 birds, on stated days in every year, fly to the 

 sepulchre of Memnon, dig up every part about 

 the tomb that is void of trees and grass, and 

 then sprinkle the whole with their wings, which 

 are wet in the water of the river ./Esepus. Near 

 Memnon, who was king of Ethiopia, stands a 

 naked boy of that country. Paris stands a 

 beardless youth ; he is clapping his hands, after 

 the manner of rustics, and you may conjec- 

 ture by his clapping that he calls Penthesilea. 

 Penthesilea is at no great distance, looking at 

 Paris. She appears to despise him. Her figure 

 is that of a virgin, with a bow like those of 

 Scythia, and with the skin of a leopard thrown 

 about her shoulders. A virgin in the flower of 

 youth, and one of more advanced age, carry 

 water in earthen urns full of holes : they repre- 

 sent the uninitiated. Above them are Callisto, 

 and Pero the daughter of Neleus. A spousal 

 gift of an ox is demanded by Neleus of Iphiclus 

 for his daughter. Callisto has the skin of a bear 

 for her couch-covering. Nigh these the painter 

 has represented a precipice, to the summit of 

 which Sisyphus endeavours to roll a stone. In 

 the same part of the picture an old man, an old 



